ELEVATION
by CONTINUUM9
Summary: After a fight with her boyfriend, Shaundi gets stuck in an elevator with a complete stranger. During their time together, as they wait to be rescued, she learns a lot about herself and why she can never seem to hold on to a man. Rated M for sexual themes and strong language.


**NOTE: This is an old story that I never finished. I found it on my hard drive and figured I'd finally finish it. It was supposed to be a one shot, but after looking it over again, I think it would be best to present it in installments. This is the part I had already written. I'm in the middle of wrapping up a previous story, so when I'm done with that one I'll upload the other installments to this story. Let me know what you think!**

ELEVATION

Chapter 1: Reputation

Shaundi stood on the balcony of her boyfriend, Ricardo's, apartment. He had invited over for a party and had been ignoring her all night. Drink in hand, she leaned against the balcony railing and looked down at the street below her. She took a drink and heard Ricardo break out in laughter from inside the apartment. She turned to see him talking to a group of women and was being extremely friendly. Shaundi watched as he took his index finger and drew tiny circles on the shoulder of one of the women. The woman giggled and Shaundi rolled her eyes. She set her drink down on the table next to her and walked into the apartment toward the front door. She bumped into Ricardo and made sure to give him a generous shove as she passed him.

"Hey, where are you going?" he asked her.

"I'm leaving." said Shaundi as she walked toward the door. Ricardo walked up behind her and grabbed her arm.

"You'll leave when I say you can leave." he said. Shaundi turned around.

"Excuse me?" asked Shaundi raising her brow at him. "I'll leave whenever I damn well feel like it."

A crowd began to form around them and he let go of her arm. He smiled awkwardly before leaning close to her.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" asked Ricardo. He kept his voice low so the crowd wouldn't hear. "You've been acting like a bitch all week."

Shaundi crossed her arms and glared at him.

"I'm tired of being ignored." said Shaundi. "When you invited me here tonight I figured it would be a nice change from what we usually do together. I figured we could talk for once."

"We talk." said Ricardo.

"You screaming my name in bed followed by a grunt and a 'good job, babe', doesn't qualify as talking." said Shaundi. "I want a genuine conversation with you."

"Then come on, let's talk. Right now." said Ricardo getting defensive. "What the hell do you want to talk about?!"

Shaundi stared at him and sighed.

"Forget it." said Shaundi rolling her eyes. She turned to leave and Ricardo looked around at his friends. His friend, Paul, came up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let her go, man." said Paul. Ricardo put his hand in Paul's face and pushed him away. Ricardo turned to look back at Shaundi. She was half way to the door.

"Hey!" yelled Rico to get her attention. Shaundi stopped walking but didn't turn around.

"Don't do it, man." said Paul leaning close to him. Rico ignored him.

"You didn't seem to care about conversation when we first started dating! Remember when you fucked my brains out on our first date?! Oh yeah, converstation is really important to you." said Ricardo sarcastically. Shaundi kept her back to him.

"Face it, Shaundi. Sex is all you know." said Ricardo walking up behind her. His voice was calm and condescending. "You have a reputation for fucking half the men in Stillwater and are well on your way to doing the same thing here in Steelport. You couldn't have a genuine conversation with a guy even if you tried."

Shaundi tightened her jaw, but continued to keep her back to him. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before resuming to walk toward the door. Ricardo smiled triumphantly.

"That's right." said Ricardo. "Get the hell out of my apartment, you slut."

Shaundi stopped walking and clenched her fists before turning to look at him. She glared at him with angry eyes. Paul walked up and put his hand on Ricardo's shoulder again. He gave Ricardo a big smile.

"I'm gonna miss you, buddy." said Paul before patting him on the back. Ricardo looked at Paul for a moment before turning back to Shaundi. She was glaring at him.

"I regret ever going on your piece of shit dating show." said Ricardo. "No wonder it's been on the air for so many years. You don't even know what type of guy you're looking for, do you?"

Shaundi tightened her jaw and looked him square in the eyes.

"You want to hit me right now, don't you?" asked Ricardo leaning close to her. "You're pissed because you know I'm right."

Ricardo looked at her and gave her an egotistical smile.

"Go ahead." said Ricardo. "Hit me."

Shaundi smiled and raised her fist before slamming it hard on Ricardo's jaw. He fell back into his glass coffee table-shattering it. Shaundi stomped toward him and grabbed him by his shirt to drag him out to his balcony. Ricardo held his face as she pulled him outside.

"I think you broke my jaw, you bitch." said Ricardo as Shaundi pushed him against the railing. She reached down to grab the leg of his pants and tilted him upside down until he was hanging head first off the balcony. She held onto his legs as he dangled off the edge.

"Hey, hey, come on." said Ricardo looking down on the street, thirty floors below him. His heart began to race in fear that she would drop him. "I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean it!"

"Didn't mean what?" asked Shaundi.

"I didn't mean to call you a slut!" screamed Ricardo. "You're not a slut! I-I'm s-s-sorry! I'm sorry for everything! You d-d-didn't deserve it! Please, pull me up!"

Ricardo felt a warm sensation in his pants. Shaundi looked down and noticed a growing dark spot on his jeans. She raised her lip in disgust.

"Jesus." said Shaundi before pulling him up onto the balcony. She pushed him to the floor and walked back inside. Ricardo grabbed his chest and felt his heart beating fast. Shaundi walked across the apartment to the front door. The people at the party stared at her as she walked out. They turned to see Ricardo standing in the balcony doorway breathing heavily. His hair was sticking up and his eyes were wide.

"The lunatic that winds up staying with that crazy bitch deserves a fucking medal!" said Ricardo.

The party goers noticed the wet spot on his pants and began to snicker at him. He looked down at his crotch before running to his bedroom in embarassment.


End file.
